AKRON, Ohio — When a new Antiochian Orthodox church opened up and drew families from several evangelical churches, it created a minor buzz around town.

At the Evangelical Free church, it also created another service.

“I’ve been caught off guard by other shifts in church trends,” says EV Free pastor Brian Fitzgerald, 44. “Not this time.”

In a defensive maneuver, his church soon added an Orthodox-style service to cater to people who want more ritual and a feeling of connection to historical tradition.

“It’s the same sermon, same worship songs in many cases, just done in a more liturgical style,” Fitzgerald says. “I don’t mind changing the packaging for people. It freshens it up for them and for me.”

The new “Liturgical Service,” as they call it, has become the most popular service even among young people. After the “standard” evangelical service at 9:30 a.m., workers decorate the platform with candles, non-specific iconography and other religious-looking items. Fitzgerald wears generic vestments and adopts a more somber manner. He reads from a liturgical book and the congregation responds by reading words on the screens.

“I like the reverence and the mood,” says one girl, 16. “It feels more spiritual.”

“I like the candles,” her friend chimes in.

The effort seems to be working to keep church members from straying elsewhere. In St. Paul, Minn., Family Life Center recently created a liturgical service and says some families have opted to stay rather than try out other churches. Jessica Onstead, 38, was dissatisfied enough last year with the “fluffiness” of evangelical church services that she visited an Orthodox service and liked parts of it. But she was uncomfortable with the “kissing of strangers, genuflecting and standing for an hour during the sermon.”

She ended up back at her non-denominational church which had by then added an Orthodox-style service. She now attends “standard” services one week and Orthodox-style the next, at the same church.

“One is light and airy, and the other is dark and sacred,” she says. “I get a balance this way.”

One pastor explains that most people don’t want to switch traditions, but just want “a taste of ritual and liturgy to supplement their usual tradition. If a few candles and a change of presentation satisfy that, we’re all for it.”

Other evangelicals who have flirted with the Orthodox tradition found that they, too, prefer courtship to commitment. The Bartel family of suburban Cleveland, Ohio, tried the local Orthodox church for a month, but “couldn’t make the cultural shift long-term,” says the father. When they walked back into an evangelical service, “the drums and guitars sounded pretty good for once.” •